Average power rating of opponents played: MINNESOTA 95.8, PORTLAND 96.1

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

MINNESOTA - Season Results

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Team Stats

Opp Stats

Date

Opponent

Score

SU

Line

ATS

Tot.

O/U

Shots

Pct

REB

TO

Shots

Pct

REB

TO

1/21/2013

@ ATLANTA

96-104

L

8

T

184.5

O

36-74

48.6%

40

17

41-71

57.7%

44

22

1/23/2013

BROOKLYN

83-91

L

5.5

L

185.5

U

38-83

45.8%

45

13

37-84

44.0%

54

14

1/25/2013

@ WASHINGTON

101-114

L

6.5

L

187

O

39-88

44.3%

62

16

48-83

57.8%

42

16

1/26/2013

@ CHARLOTTE

101-102

L

3

W

194

O

37-77

48.1%

44

16

37-73

50.7%

41

17

1/30/2013

LA CLIPPERS

90-96

L

4.5

L

189

U

33-75

44.0%

46

13

35-77

45.5%

59

15

2/1/2013

LA LAKERS

100-111

L

2.5

L

200.5

O

41-89

46.1%

49

13

39-92

42.4%

66

12

2/2/2013

NEW ORLEANS

115-86

W

-4

W

188.5

O

45-77

58.4%

51

18

28-70

40.0%

38

23

2/4/2013

PORTLAND

98-100

L

-4

L

192.5

O

40-85

47.1%

38

12

41-70

58.6%

45

28

2/6/2013

SAN ANTONIO

94-104

L

4.5

L

199

U

33-81

40.7%

51

15

37-81

45.7%

45

13

2/8/2013

NEW YORK

94-100

L

6

T

196

U

37-80

46.2%

49

9

38-81

46.9%

49

8

2/10/2013

@ MEMPHIS

88-105

L

8.5

L

183

O

34-69

49.3%

43

19

41-79

51.9%

44

13

2/11/2013

@ CLEVELAND

100-92

W

7.5

W

205

U

39-75

52.0%

41

20

40-79

50.6%

41

20

2/13/2013

UTAH

93-97

L

-2

L

193

U

29-85

34.1%

58

10

38-87

43.7%

61

14

2/20/2013

PHILADELPHIA

94-87

W

-3.5

W

186

U

28-70

40.0%

62

15

31-81

38.3%

52

10

2/22/2013

@ OKLAHOMA CITY

111-127

L

14

L

205

O

41-85

48.2%

36

10

48-83

57.8%

49

17

2/24/2013

GOLDEN STATE

99-100

L

2

W

205.5

U

37-85

43.5%

48

17

37-81

45.7%

55

22

2/26/2013

@ PHOENIX

83-84

L

1.5

W

197.5

U

31-90

34.4%

66

16

37-91

40.7%

65

20

2/28/2013

@ LA LAKERS

94-116

L

10

L

206

O

37-81

45.7%

39

12

44-83

53.0%

55

14

3/2/2013

@ PORTLAND

3/4/2013

MIAMI

3/6/2013

WASHINGTON

3/9/2013

@ DENVER

3/10/2013

DALLAS

3/12/2013

SAN ANTONIO

3/13/2013

@ INDIANA

3/15/2013

@ HOUSTON

3/17/2013

NEW ORLEANS

3/18/2013

@ MEMPHIS

PORTLAND - Season Results

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Team Stats

Opp Stats

Date

Opponent

Score

SU

Line

ATS

Tot.

O/U

Shots

Pct

REB

TO

Shots

Pct

REB

TO

1/21/2013

WASHINGTON

95-98

L

-7

L

195.5

U

37-81

45.7%

49

13

39-84

46.4%

49

15

1/23/2013

INDIANA

100-80

W

-1

W

181.5

U

44-78

56.4%

50

15

30-80

37.5%

39

13

1/26/2013

LA CLIPPERS

101-100

W

0

W

190.5

O

35-75

46.7%

39

14

40-81

49.4%

47

15

1/27/2013

@ LA CLIPPERS

83-96

L

9.5

L

192.5

U

29-66

43.9%

47

19

42-82

51.2%

40

12

1/29/2013

DALLAS

106-104

W

-3

L

202

O

39-86

45.3%

50

14

42-84

50.0%

47

16

2/1/2013

@ UTAH

77-86

L

5

L

195

U

29-79

36.7%

46

15

35-81

43.2%

59

13

2/2/2013

UTAH

105-99

W

-4.5

W

191.5

O

38-75

50.7%

61

16

39-90

43.3%

39

4

2/4/2013

@ MINNESOTA

100-98

W

4

W

192.5

O

41-70

58.6%

45

28

40-85

47.1%

38

12

2/6/2013

@ DALLAS

99-105

L

5.5

L

201

O

36-84

42.9%

47

6

41-86

47.7%

54

8

2/8/2013

@ HOUSTON

103-118

L

7.5

L

211

O

40-88

45.5%

45

11

47-79

59.5%

44

10

2/10/2013

@ ORLANDO

104-110

L

-2.5

L

197

O

42-83

50.6%

42

14

47-93

50.5%

54

10

2/12/2013

@ MIAMI

104-117

L

11

L

198

O

39-73

53.4%

34

14

43-74

58.1%

37

9

2/13/2013

@ NEW ORLEANS

63-99

L

4.5

L

193

U

24-74

32.4%

41

16

41-87

47.1%

61

6

2/19/2013

PHOENIX

98-102

L

-6.5

L

193

O

33-80

41.2%

41

14

41-82

50.0%

56

17

2/22/2013

@ LA LAKERS

107-111

L

9

W

203.5

O

46-94

48.9%

53

14

40-85

47.1%

54

16

2/24/2013

BOSTON

92-86

W

-1.5

W

192.5

U

35-79

44.3%

53

16

36-85

42.4%

47

9

2/27/2013

DENVER

109-111

L

2.5

W

212

O

38-85

44.7%

49

19

45-87

51.7%

57

15

3/2/2013

MINNESOTA

3/4/2013

CHARLOTTE

3/6/2013

@ MEMPHIS

3/8/2013

@ SAN ANTONIO

3/10/2013

@ NEW ORLEANS

3/12/2013

MEMPHIS

3/14/2013

NEW YORK

3/16/2013

DETROIT

3/18/2013

@ PHILADELPHIA

KEY GAME INFORMATION

MINNESOTA: GUARDS: RICKY RUBIO could be back by late December, but even he's not confident his knee will be 100 percent. His minutes might have to be scaled back . . . LUKE RIDNOUR will handle the offense with Rubio hampered. The vet is a steady hand in coach Rick Adelman's Euro-style offense . . . They're counting on BRANDON ROY to reclaim his old form after a radical knee procedure. He may never be 100 percent, but he should at least give them sixth-man minutes . . . CHASE BUDINGER is a three-point marksman who moves well off the ball, a perfect fit in Adelman's system . . . J.J. BAREA will take some of the point guard burden as well. He's a top sixth man . . . ALEXEY SHVED can help as a combo guard, though he might have trouble breaking into this rotation . . . MALCOLM LEE is a defensive stopper who won't be asked to shoot very often. FORWARDS: Despite being limited athletically, KEVIN LOVE is an elite rebounder and shooter for a big. He'll continue to be the focal point of this offense once he returns from a broken hand in early December . . . ANDREI KIRILENKO returns to the States after a dominating Euroleague stint. He's a big upgrade at the three and should be comfortable in Adelman's system . . . DERRICK WILLIAMS will continue his attempted transition to the three. As last year proved, he's a long, long ways away. He might have to play himself into a rotation spot . . . DANTE CUNNINGHAM is a nice, efficient big to bring off the bench . . . Since they need shooting on the wings, rookie ROBBIE HUMMEL has a chance to crack the rotation. CENTERS: NIKOLA PEKOVIC is a beast, the best offensive rebounder in the NBA. His total rebounding numbers get hurt playing alongside Kevin Love, but Pekovic will continue to bully his way to put-backs . . . GREG STIEMSMA is going to come in and do some pushing and shoving (and occasional shot-blocking) for 12-to-15 MPG.

PORTLAND: GUARDS: Portland will turn point guard duties over to rookie DAMIAN LILLARD. The leap from Big Sky Conference to NBA will be a big one, but Lillard is an efficient scorer who can manage the offense . . . WESLEY MATTHEWS is more of a glue guy. He can't create his own offense, but he can heat up as a streaky catch-and-shoot guy . . . RONNIE PRICE should emerge as Lillard's top backup, a role he's filled at numerous stops . . . Second-rounder WILL BARTON could emerge as a rotation player. He's a versatile wing who must prove he can play off the ball . . . SASHA PAVLOVIC will play both the two and three, and can still stroke it from long distance . . . NOLAN SMITH, a misstep of the last regime, is a fringe roster player . . . ELLIOT WILLIAMS, a defensive-minded combo guard, tore his Achilles in mid-September and expects to miss the entire season. FORWARDS: LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE had a couple of health scares over the past six months, but he should enter the season 100 percent. He's clearly Portland's best player . . . NICOLAS BATUM felt rightly disrespected by his secondary role in Portland. All signs point to a bigger role in 2012-13 . . . VICTOR CLAVER is an athletic scrapper who won't do much offensively even if he does get big minutes . . . JOEL FREELAND could become their first big man off the bench . . . JARED JEFFRIES is still relevant as a defensive specialist . . . The highlight of LUKE BABBITT's career might be that mention on Onion:Sportsdome. CENTERS: J.J. HICKSON is a black hole on offense and a liability on defense, but he can score and rebound, which is good enough to be the starting center in Portland's weak frontcourt . . . MEYERS LEONARD might not be quite ready for 30-plus minutes, but he'll have to learn on the fly due to Portland's lack of veteran bigs. He has some long-term upside as a 7-footer with some nice athleticism and touch inside 10 feet.

With a little over six weeks remaining in the regular season, the slumping Portland Trail Blazers know they need to pick up the pace.

A visit from the last-place Minnesota Timberwolves could help them do just that.

Portland tries to continue its recent domination of Minnesota as these Northwest Division rivals conclude their season series Saturday night.

While the 10th-place Trail Blazers (26-31) are hoping to climb into the Western Conference playoff picture, a 1-8 funk has instead set them back. Portland sits two games behind the ninth-place Los Angeles Lakers and a handful in back of the eighth and final postseason spot.

"I think we still have got a chance," said Damian Lillard, who leads all rookies with 18.4 points, 6.4 assists and 2.2 3-pointers per game. "Until it says we can't catch any team for eighth, then that's when we'll be out. We can string wins together at any point. As long as there's a window open, we've got a chance."

"It's tough to come up short at the end of a game that we really needed to win," Lillard said. "We know what time it is. ... Guys putting everything out there at this time of the season because we know we've got a chance, and when you come up short on your home floor when you play hard like that, this is the type of feeling you have."

Portland figures to be in higher spirits with Minnesota (20-35) coming to town. The Blazers have taken 13 of 14 meetings at home and 20 of 22 overall, including all three this season. Wesley Matthews has gone 14 for 21 from 3-point range and averaged 26.0 points - 10.9 more than his season mark - in the three games while Lillard's averaged 23.0.

Minnesota is coming off its fourth consecutive loss and 20th in 24 games, 116-94 at the Lakers on Thursday. Continuing to play without Kevin Love and just two days after losing Andrei Kirilenko to a calf injury, the Timberwolves saw Nikola Pekovic go down with an abdominal strain. Pekovic, averaging 15.9 points and 8.8 rebounds, is uncertain to suit up Saturday.

"It's been horrendous. I've never seen anything like this," coach Rick Adelman said. "And it's not just getting injuries, but when the guys do start trickling back, they haven't played together, so we've got no rhythm as a team.

"We're just trying to fit people in. It's been really frustrating, but I give our guys credit. They're still trying to fight through it. After a while, it gets really old, but the schedule doesn't stop. You've got to keep playing."

J.J. Barea scored 20 points off the bench Thursday and Ricky Rubio added 13, 13 assists and eight rebounds. Minnesota has dropped 15 of 17 on the road while surrendering an average of 104.4 points.

"Man, it's tough. I don't think anybody in here has ever lost like this before," said Derrick Williams, averaging 16.5 points and 9.0 boards over the last 10 games. "I mean, we've had only nine or 10 players all season, and it takes a toll on you every single night."